The Best Legal-Themed Halloween Costumes

For lawyers and law lovers out there, you might be searching for a fun and clever way to attend your Halloween get-togethers this year. Instead of pulling out the same generic witch or vampire costume, why not try a witty legal pun or case law costume to wow your friends and coworkers this time around. Here is a list of some of the best legal-themed costumes–for most of them, you will not have to have attended law school to understand them, but some might need a little explanation for your less-legally-informed cronies.

Puns-on-Law Costumes

Assault and Battery. Abovethelaw.com does great legal themed Halloween costume contests every year. Assault and Battery is a great costume that all people, even the most legally challenged, should understand. How do you dress up like assault and battery you ask? Well this costume works best with a partner–one person dresses up like an alkaline battery, while the other shows up dressed like a salt shaker or in Morton salt packaging. It is pretty straightforward, and surely been done before, but it will nonetheless deliver a few laughs.

Second Amendment ( the right to bear arms). This one might be a little more tough to understand for most people. It requires the knowledge of the Second Amendment–something that, sadly, most Americans probably lack. To dress up like the Second Amendment, you simply need to make it look like you have a bear’s arms. Sounds a bit daunting? All you need is some furry brown fabric to sew on a t-shirt and some gloves with claws glued on. This is a fairly easy costume that merely requires a trip to the craft store and mediocre sewing skills. Afraid no one will understand your costume? All you have to do is remind people what the Second Amendment is, and then you should have no problem getting your point across.

The Supreme(s) Court Justices. This one is probably my favorite, particularly if a group of men decide to take this route. It is great because you can be two costumes at once–one part representative of the highest judicial body in the US, while the other part the premier act of 1960s Motown Records. You can approach this however you like. My suggestion is as a group, wear iconic Supremes wigs and sparkly dresses with an open black Harry Potter robe over it. This will definitely get you more than a few laughs at this year’s Halloween shindig.

Commerce Clause. This pesky clause seems to have made its way into countless Supreme Court decisions over the years; it has had so many interpretations. For this reason, once you offer a quick explanation, anyone who has taken an American history class will get it. How to accomplish this costume, you ask? Play off the similarity between the words clause and Claus(yes, like Santa Claus). Dress up in a Santa costume, and attach fake money all over your body. This is a pretty funny costume, and most people should understand it.

Case Law Costume. If you are attending a Halloween party in which the majority of the guest list includes attorneys, law students, or anyone who has attended law school, this might be a good route to take. The average lay person will probably not understand a specific case law costume, but it will be great for a law school Halloween party. Pick your favorite famous law school case, and dress up like the actors in it. For instance, with a partner, dress up like a fox and a hunter to represent the famous Pierson v. Post case.

Kristen Valek blogs for Alamo Injury Attorneys, a law firm based in San Antonio, Texas. Kristen really wants to be a Supreme(s) Court Judge for Halloween.